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Concert speaking

Things I should be doing instead of blogging:Putting ornaments on the Christmas tree
Cleaning off the counter and table
Folding laundry
Encouraging the cat not to eat the other cat's vomit (although I don't want to clean it up myself either)(I can't watch or else I might vomit)
Polishing silver (really)(for Katie and Christian's MN open house. You're coming, aren't you?)
Showering
Going over my seminary lesson once more

But instead I'm posting pictures and a story from Matt's band concert on Monday night.

Trombone power

Story about this part to follow

Concert reading

Before I start my story, see the band director behind Matt? When we first started going to middle school band concerts 10 years ago, we thought this director was one of the kids in the band and that the main director had let him direct a song. Seriously, we thought he was 15 years old. He looks a little older now, and we know for sure that he's older because he has kids (Hayley babysits them sometimes. It's really weird to have a teacher come to your door and chat for a bit about not-school things)

Story now.

Matt told me a couple days before the concert that the whole band class had to work on instructive speeches about one of their band songs. After the writing, the kids orated their paragraphs in class and the class voted on two students to recite their speeches at the concert. Matt's speech was one of the two chosen ones.

When we got to the concert, there were three kids giving little speeches. You can see Matt and another kid in the middle picture. I took that picture while the first kid was talking.

Matt followed the first speaker and did very well. He did not seem nervous, he enunciated as well as he can (he still has a mushy sounding "s"), and didn't talk too fast or stumble over any of his words.

We were very proud of our wee boy. Then the last kid gave his speech about the song they were about to play. And this kid got the biggest laugh for the line "Suites went out of popularity like 80s fashions." (or something along that line--the jist of it was a dig at 80s clothing styles, something probably 95% of the parents in the auditorium would have had personal knowledge of). Anyway, I was a little jealous that this kid got a huge laugh (but not that jealous. Just a little). I acknowledged to myself that some kids are just naturally funny and this kid was one of them. Matt did a fine job speaking and I need not be let down that some other kid than my own got the big laugh. And then I forgot about it and enjoyed the rest of the concert.

So the concert ended and we were in the car on the way home, and Matt said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you--that speech that the kid gave after me? I wrote that. It was part of my original speech, but he wanted to talk during the concert so I let him have the funny half of my speech."

And I didn't have to be (the tiniest bit) jealous of that other kid anymore. Just really proud that Matt was kind enough to share speaking duties, AND generous enough to let the other kid get the big laugh. And that was why there were three speakers instead of only two.

Comments

How wonderful that Matt was one of the chosen two to give his speech. That says a lot about him. And what a great kid who is willing to give up the big laugh to make another kid feel good about himself.

I always get chills when there's a "blow your mind moment". It's when out of the blue, one of your kids blows your mind. It's like you're walking in one direction, the kid does something that lifts you up, spins you 180, sets you down,and you continue walking, just in the opposite direction. Lucky you to have officially had your "mind blown." BTW, you can't look for these moments, you'll never find them, they find you.